Leaked Account Activity
Binance is facing renewed criticism after internal data reviewed by the Financial Times indicated that accounts flagged for suspicious behavior continued to transact on the exchange following its 4.3 billion-dollar settlement with U.S. authorities in 2023. The records reportedly cover activity from 2021 to 2025 and involve red-flag indicators, including large transfers, frequent banking-detail changes, and connections to wallets later frozen under anti-terrorism actions.
The report cited one account registered to a resident of a Venezuelan slum that moved about 93 million dollars over four years. According to the investigation, some activity was linked to networks later accused by U.S. officials of handling funds for Iran and Hizbollah.
Another account, registered to a 25-year-old Venezuelan woman, reportedly received more than 177 million dollars in cryptocurrency across two years. The account changed its linked banking details 647 times in 14 months and cycled through nearly 500 accounts in various jurisdictions.
Volume After the Settlement
The Financial Times reviewed information tied to 13 accounts that together handled 1.7 billion dollars in transactions. Around 144 million dollars of that activity took place after Binance reached its plea agreement in late 2023. A former U.S. federal prosecutor told the newspaper that the behavior resembled an unlicensed money-transmission operation.
Logins and Sanctioned Links
The leaked data also pointed to unusual login records, including instances in which accounts appeared to be accessed from distant geographic locations within time frames suggesting compromised or coordinated use. One example involved a Venezuelan banking employee’s account accessed from Caracas and Osaka within roughly half a day.
Some accounts reportedly received funds in the Tether stablecoin from wallets later frozen by Israeli authorities for alleged ties to Hizbollah and Iran-aligned groups. Transfers were traced to wallets associated with a Syrian national later sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for facilitating movement of funds to the Houthis.
Corporate Response and Oversight
Binance told the Financial Times that the platform applies strict compliance standards and investigates questionable flows. The reporting follows continued attention on governance at the exchange after a 2024 presidential pardon granted to founder Changpeng Zhao. The pardon and evolving business relationships involving the former president’s family have drawn commentary from former intelligence officials about oversight challenges.
The Financial Times noted that portions of the flagged flow occurred after independent monitors were appointed in 2024 to oversee compliance practices under the settlement.
